Gabby Giffords drives for first time since shooting

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Gabby Giffords drives for first time since shooting

(CNN) — Former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords drove a car for the first time since she was critically wounded in a shooting three years ago during a political event in Arizona.

“2014 will be a year of many wins for me–moments when I do something I thought I might never be able to do again,” Giffords said in a post to her Facebook page Friday along with a video of her behind the wheel on a closed driving course.

“Driving at CoTA was a bit like racing my motorcycle back in Arizona–but this time, it was just me, Mark and the pavement. I feel honored to have taken this important step on one of the finest tracks in the world. And while I may not be Mario Andretti, I think I handled the road pretty well.”

Giffords also said she continues to make progress in her recovery efforts through speech and walking rehabilitation as well as practicing her French horn.

In another milestone for the former congresswoman, she and her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, marked the third anniversary of the shooting last month by skydiving.

Giffords was first elected to Congress in 2006. She stepped down from her seat one year after suffering a severe head wound in the shooting, which took place as she was meeting with constituents at a supermarket near her hometown of Tucson. The shooting left six people dead.

Since the event, Giffords and her husband have been outspoken on gun control issues. Their group, Americans for Responsible Solutions, aired a nationwide advertisement during President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address last month, pushing Congress to act on legislation expanding background checks on firearms sales.

Gun control efforts, however, have stalled on Capitol Hill, after a bill that included stronger federal background checks for gun purchases failed to pass the Senate last April.